Bio:

Within an apprentice’s cell deep below the glass-domed towers of the Celestial Order College in Altdorf is a well-preserved scroll in a worn leather case. The parchment is of high quality, but shows some slight wear due to handling and age. Inscribed upon the scroll is:

Erland Reikson was born on Geheimnistag 2498 I.C. in the Imperial City of Altdorf. He is a bona fide citizen of The Empire, and is entitled to all rights, privileges, and duties granted by this condition. His parents are proper Sigmar-praising citizens in good standing with the municipality and The Empire at large. By virtue of their exceptional situation, they are forced to relinquish claim to their son and hereby place him as a Ward of the State under the guidance of Lord Captain Unger Bremminger. Erland hereby has no claim to his parents’ estate, holdings, titles, debts, contracts, or other legal entities. The 1st Bank of Altdorf holds a Dispensary Trust in his name, and has orders as to how and when to dispense funds required to ensure that Erland is raised and educated appropriately and made sufficiently comfortable in his adulthood.

Made valid by my hand this day, in the Emperor’s sight,

Lord Captain Unger Bremminger

This represents the entirety of knowledge that Erland has regarding his origins.

Erland was raised in the Bremminger household within the walls of the great Imperial city. He has little memory of the Lord Captain, as his Lordship was nominated as the ambassador to Karak Azgaraz and departed to fulfill his duties when Erland was three years old. He has not seen the Lord Captain in the intervening 20 years. While Erland wrote frequently to his absent guardian, return correspondence was sparse due to the Lord Captain’s demanding responsibilities.

The duty of raising and fostering Erland was left to Matron Rena Wengerhaus and Steward Geor Rold, while his education was left to Master Ulreh Feisbiner. The matron was a highly religious and superstitious woman, who worked hard to ensure that Erland grew-up pious and proper. Steward Geor was a hard man, previously a sergeant who severed under the Lord Captain. The steward was quick to punish the young master and frequently worked him to exhaustion in efforts to ensure that he didn’t grow up “too soft.” Master Ulreh was Erland’s favorite mentor and had the closest relationship with him. Erland took well to his studies and cherished his times with Master Ulreh.

Erland was frequently the subject of ire from his superstitious matron, who did not like the way that the young master would occasionally recite the upcoming day’s events as he dressed in the morning or his penchant for predicting major occurrences in the city before they happened. Master Ulreh attributed Erland’s forecasting ability to his erudite nature, but the matron remained apprehensive whenever the young master spoke with a far-off gaze.

This situation came to a head during the summer of 2512 I.C., when Erland became increasingly distressed and withdrawn. His keepers dismissed his behavior as the commonplace condition of a lad his age. However, one evening as he studied the stars as part of his astronomy lessons, Erland let out with a painfed cry. When the steward and the matron came to attend him, they found him on his floor with a glassy stare and breathing shallowly. When they asked him what happened, he said, “Unger Bremminger’s fate is uncast, his house will fall to ruin and thieves, but his body may yet hold fast.” The matron withdrew, making signs to ward herself against the evil in the room, but the Steward shook the boy violently. This roused Erland and the steward repeated his question regarding what happened. The boy simply said, “The blue night wind, it blew me from my window seat.” The steward approached Master Ulreh about the events that transpired and was apparently displeased with the master’s response, because the master was released from his service shortly after the conversation.

A week later, the house received notification that the Lord Captain had gone missing due to undisclosed events that had transpired in Karak Azgaraz. Unfortunately, the undisclosed details did not paint the Lord Captain in a favorable light and the Imperial court was conducting inquiry to determine its course of action.

Misfortunes followed in rapid succession. Shortly after hearing the news, Steward Geor, who had controlled the Lord Captain’s finances and holdings, liquidated as many assets as he could and slipped out of Altdorf under a purchased name. The rest of the servants quickly followed suit and fled the ill-fated household, stealing as much as they could in the process.

The matron was one of the last to leave and at least followed due diligence in her duty to the young master. Being a properly religious woman, she encouraged him to seek a life in service to the church. Erland was fond of this idea, since she had instilled in him a deeply religious nature. Unfortunately, as she was taking him to the Temple of Sigmar for induction they wound their way through the market past a butcher’s shop. Erland chanced to glance at a chicken as the butcher worked on it. He was seized by a fit and, upon recovery, he gravely informed the matron that within a year she would succumb to a pox in her womb. The matron did not take this well and became convinced the boy was a conduit for witchcraft and evil. Rather than the temple, she made their destination a workhouse, where she sold him for a silver piece.

Erland spent 9 hard months in the workhouse. He was unaccustomed to the relentless work, but at least the steward’s harsh treatment has partially prepared him for the nature of his current masters. Erland may still be languishing in the workhouse now if the Master Ulreh had not heard of the plight of Matron Rena. He visited her on her deathbed and managed to gain knowledge as to Erland’s whereabouts. She also gave him the legal scroll detailing Erland’s birthrights, as the steward had left it when he fled.

Master Ulreh had not been idle with the information he had gained from the steward. He had pursued his academic contacts to gain a meeting with a wizard of the Celestial College. He had informed the wizard of Erland’s prophecy regarding the fall of the house of Bremminger. The Wizard had been impressed and had consented to administering a test of the boy’s abilities. Thus, Master Ulreh had spent the previous months attempting to find him.

With the matron’s information to guide him and Erland’s legal birthright in hand, Master Ulreh was able to gain Erland’s release from the workhouse with only a bit of effort. He and the lad had a warm reunion. Shortly thereafter, he began to prepare the lad for his meeting with the wizard.

Erland proved to be adept at both perceiving and controlling the wind of Ayzr, and was readily admitted into the apprenticeship with the College. He proved once again an excellent student and dedicated himself to his studies. He has diligently pursued his training over the past 9 years. While he still harbors great resentment for Steward Geor, wishes to uncover the true fate of Lord Captain Bremminger, and desires to know the identity of his parents, Erland has devoted himself to the College and its pursuits. He realizes that his desires come after the greater needs of the College. But, every so often, the blue winds of Ayzr blow stronger than normal and Erland can almost see the truth written in the stars.